# Rhyl Lifeboat Station

Rhyl Lifeboat Station is operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in the North Wales town of Rhyl. For over 150 years, the Lifeboat Crew in Rhyl have been saving lives at sea. The first lifeboat was stationed in the town in 1852 and the present station was opened in December 2001. The station operates a Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat (ALB), and an D-class (IB1) Inshore lifeboat (ILB).

## History

In 1852, the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariner’s Society placed a lifeboat at Rhyl. Shortly after, in 1853, the lifeboat Gwylan-y-Mor capsized with the loss of six of her crew.
In 1963, Rhyl Lifeboat Anthony Robert Marshall (ON 869) was launched on service to the first lifeboat rescue of a hovercraft. For this service, the RNLI silver medal for gallantry was awarded to Coxswain Harold Campini.
In 1967, the first D-class ILB Lifeboat (D-141) was put on service in Rhyl to accompany the All-Weather Lifeboat for inshore rescues.
In 1973, the RNLI Bronze medal for gallantry was awarded to Helmsman Don Archer-Jones for the courage and seamanship he displayed when the ILB rescued 2 boys cut off by the tide, and clinging to a perch marking the sewer outfall between Rhyl and Prestatyn, in a gale force westerly wind and a rough sea on 7 August. Crew member Paul Frost was awarded a medal service certificate.
In 2002, The Duke of Kent, presented the lifeboat station with an anniversary Vellum to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Rhyl lifeboat.

## Description

The lifeboat station is built on the promenade in Rhyl. The building contains the All-weather lifeboat (ALB) with Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS), Inshore lifeboat (ILB), launched with a marinised County Tractor, and a Land-Rover Defender, used for Search and Rescue operations off the coast of Rhyl. The station also has a short concrete slipway that leads down to the beach. Each boat is kept on a carriage attached to a tractor which propels it down to the water and brings it back after use. A fundraising shop is situated on the west side of the boathouse.

## Area of operation

The Shannon-class All-Weather lifeboat at Rhyl has a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h). The lifeboat can cover an area from Colwyn Bay (west) to Mostyn (east). North of the station the All-Weather lifeboat covers the Oil and Gas platforms of the Douglas and Hamilton fields, and also the windfarms of North Hoyle; Rhyl Flats; and the Gwynt-Y-Mor fields. Rhyl Lifeboat is a part of the contingency plan for any evacuation of the rigs. The area also covers the outer approaches to Liverpool. Adjacent ALBs are at Llandudno Lifeboat Station to the west, and Hoylake to the east. There is an ILB station at both Flint and West Kirby to the east.

## Notable rescues

* 1962 - ALB, First service ever made by a lifeboat to a hovercraft
* 1973 - ILB, Rescue to children stuck on sewer outfall
* 1990 - Towyn and Pensarn floods
* 2011 - ALB, Rescue kayaker with hypothermia
* 2011 - ILB, Rescue to mother and son with hypothermia
* 2012 - ALB, Rescue to cargo ship in Llanddulas

## Station honours

The following are awards made at Rhyl
* RNLI Silver Medal
       Harold Louis Campini, Coxswain - 1962
* RNLI Bronze Medal
       Don Archer-Jones, Helmsman - 1973
* Medal Service Certificate
       Paul Frost, crew member - 1973
* The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
       the crew of the lifeboat -1962
       Donald Jones, Helmsman - 1974
       Richard Perrin, crew member - 1974
       James Quinn, crew member - 1974
* Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
       Shore Crew - 1962
       Martin Jones, Mechanic - 2001
* British Empire Medal
       Bruce Arnold Herbert, Coxswain - 1991
* Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)
       Jean Olive Frost, Manageress of the Rhyl Lifeboat Souvenir Shop - 2008
       Paul Frost, crew member - 2011
       Martin Peter Jones, Coxswain - 2017

## Rhyl lifeboats
### All-weather lifeboats
#### No.1 Station

| ON | Op. No. | Name | In service | Class | Comments |
| Pre-244 | – | Gwylan-y-Mor | 1852–1856 | 26-foot Self-righting (P&S) | |
| 70 | – | Unnamed, Morgan | 1856–1868 | 32-foot Tubular (P&S) | |
| Pre-490 | – | Henry Nixson No.2 | 1868–1869 | 33-foot Self-righting (P&S) | Relief boat whilst ON 70 repaired |
| 70 | – | Unnamed, Morgan | 1869–1893 | 32-foot Tubular (P&S) | |
| 287 | – | Caroline Richardson | 1893–1897 | 35-foot 7in Tubular (P&S) | |
| 398 | – | Caroline Richardson | 1897–1939 | 34-foot Tubular (P&S) | |
| 835 | – | The Gordon Warren | 1939–1949 | Surf | |
| 869 | – | Anthony Robert Marshall | 1949–1968 | Liverpool | |
| 993 | 37-22 | Har Lil | 1968–1990 | Oakley | |
| 1000 | 37-29 | Mary Gabriel | 1990–1992 | Rother | |
| 1183 | 12-24 | Lil Cunningham | 1992–2019 | Mersey | |
| 1341 | 13-34 | Anthony Kenneth Heard | 2019– | Shannon | |

#### No.2 Station

| ON | Name | In service | Class | Comments |
| Pre-457 | Jane Dalton | 1878–1888 | 33-foot Self-righting (P&S) | |
| 166 | Jane Martin | 1888–1899 | 34-foot 2in Self-righting (P&S) | |

### Inshore lifeboats

| Op. No. | Name | In service | Class |
| D-141 | Unnamed | 1967–1975 | D-class (RFD PB16) |
| D-243 | Unnamed | 1976–1987 | D-class (Zodiac III) |
| D-348 | Banks' Staff I | 1987–1995 | D-class (EA16) |
| D-485 | Stafford with Rugeley | 1995–2004 | D-class (EA16) |
| D-632 | Godfrey and Desmond Nall | 2004–2014 | D-class (IB1) |
| D-770 | Mary Maxwell | 2014– | D-class (IB1) |

### Launch and recovery tractors (ALB)

| Op. No. | Reg. No. | Type | In service | Comments |
| T6 | DM 3318 | Clayton | 1921–1938 | |
| T12 | LLY 75 | Clayton | 1938–1940 | |
| T37 | GGF 497 | Case L | 1940–1954 | |
| T53 | KXT 421 | Case LA | 1954–1955 | |
| T63 | PXF 163 | Fowler Challenger III | 1955–1963 | |
| T60 | OXO 323 | Fowler Challenger III | 1963–1972 | |
| T67 | YLD 792 | Fowler Challenger III | 1972–1974 | |
| T58 | OJJ 312 | Fowler Challenger III | 1974–1975 | |
| T68 | YUV 742 | Fowler Challenger III | 1975–1978 | |
| T60 | OXO 323 | Fowler Challenger III | 1978–1983 | |
| T67 | YLD 792 | Fowler Challenger III | 1983–1984 | |
| T92 | A462 AUX | Talus MB-H Crawler | 1984–1997 | |
| T91 | UAW 558Y | Talus MB-H Crawler | 1997–2007 | |
| T93 | A496 CUX | Talus MB-H Crawler | 2007–2019 | |
| SC-T20 | HF19 EHH | SLARS (Clayton) | 2019– | Violet Rose Saw |

### Launch and recovery tractors (ILB)

| Op. No. | Reg. No. | Type | In service |
| TA09 | KLG 681Y | Ford 4000 | 1993–1995 |
| TA25 | PHS 545V | County 1184 | 1995–1998 |
| TA35 | Q678 BRM | County 1184 | 1998–2003 |
| TW33 | M562 OUX | Talus MB-764 County | 2002–2006 |
| TW31 | L526 JUJ | Talus MB-764 County | 2006–2008 |
| TW44 | S193 RUJ | Talus MB-764 County | 2008–2010 |
| ST02 | WA54 HRP | Softrak Loglogic | 2010–2012 |
| TW05 | UJT 151S | Talus MB-764 County | 2012– |
* 1 2 ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
* 1 2 3 4 Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.
    Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.